CHRISTIAN MORALITY, VIS. ESE RM. XXIII. Another purpose for which laughter was made, is to reprove and punish folly, and put vice out of counte- nance. There are seasons wherein a wise.manor a chris- tian may treat some criminal or silly characters with ridi- cule and mockery. Elijah the prophet, condescended thus to correct the priests and worshippers of Baal ; but this sort of conversation must by no means be the busi- ness of our lives, and the daily work and labour of our thoughts and our tongues. It is the heart of afool that is in the house ofmirth, for he would dwell there conti- nually; Ec. vii. 4. Ifwe are always affecting to throw out some turns ofwit upon every occurrence of life, and tack on a jest to every thing that is spoken ; ifwe inter- line all our discourse and conversation with merriment, banter and joking, it is very unworthy of that gravityand honour that belongs to the christian life. The second head of discourse which I proposed, is to prove, that the light of nature, or the law of reason, re- quires something of this gravity of speech and behavi- our; and this is manifest, if we consider the nature of man in opposition to the brute that perishes, or the growth and age of man in distinction from children and babes. 1. Ifwe consider man in opposition to thebrutal world : Man, who has a rational soul, should act conformable to that sublime principle within him, and not devote him- self to a life of fantastic humour, or content himself with the character of an everlasting trifler. What a poor and contemptible account is it of any person to say, he is a walking jest, a mere living trifle? His thoughts are made up of vanity and emptiness, his voice his laughter, and his whole life is composed of impertinences. There is a sort of persons in the world who never thinkwell of themselves but when they are dressed in gay attire, and hope to command the respect of mankind by spreading abroad their own fine feathers. Their raiment is the brightest and best thing that belongs to them, and therefore they affect to chew it. There is another sort of men who value themselves upon their merry humour, and that they can make their company laugh when they. please. Bat the more refined and rational part of the world value all these creatures as they do peacocks, or other animals that imitate the voice and actions of man. They use them as an entertainment for their eyes or
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=